Also: Net Neutrality—What it’s all about Political Reform—The next steps

Table of Contents
2 -

NYE Profile

3 -

Table of Contents & Editorial

4 -

Shell’s Role in Nigeria

6 -

Tea and Toast with Dan O’ Neill

8 -

Irish Foreign Policy—Time for a rethink?

10 -

The Senate—Abolition or reform?

12 -

Debunking Fianna Fail spin

14 -

Susan O’ Keefe on the upcoming election

15-

The lowdown on Net Neutrality

16 -

An analysis of the Death Penalty

18 -

Political reform—The next steps

20-

Book Review - ???

22-

Palestine and the Israeli Boycott

Page 2

www.labouryouth.ie

Message FROM THE CHAIR

Comrades and Friends,

A chomhrádaithe,
It is my great delight to welcome to you to the first edition of the Left Tribune for

Happy New Year! I am glad to be offered the opportunity
to write an introduction for the first Left Tribune in my
term as National Chair. The Left Tribune is one of the
most important Labour Youth publications – it sets out a
vibrant and radical agenda to counter the neo-liberal politics of the present government. Since I was elected, developments in Irish politics have been breath-taking to
say the least. We have witnessed the stranglehold of the
EU/IMF deal taking hold, coupled with the impending
general election.
Now, more than ever, Labour Youth needs to assert her voice in the debate for a progressive future. The
recent budget has imposed a series of draconian cuts
that will hit working people and students hardest. Many
of these curtailments were unnecessary and avoidable.
Instead of tackling the real criminals in society, the rogue
bankers and developers, we are all faced with an incredible tax burden and a reduction in public services. Young
people have a vital role to play in resisting governmental
policy. It is not enough to merely stand by and pledge to
work for a progressive future. We must all go out and
canvass for Labour Party candidates and ensure that we
are in the driving seat during the next Dáil.

2011. We have endeavored to ensure that this edition and those to come later on
in the year can measure up with the excellent standard that has been maintained
over many long years by Labour Youth. In publishing this edition I am indebted to
the Editorial Board, the National Youth Executive, and in particular Deputy Communications Officer Audrey Walsh, without whom this task would have been
infinitely more stressful and less enjoyable.
It is of course a crucial time for the Labour Party. We stand on the
cusp of probably the most important election in the history of the state, with the
country reduced to economic penury and young people being one of the groups
most hurt by the economic mismanagement of the country by the Fianna Fail led
government. The ideas outlined in the following pages cover a vast range of topics
but all share one thing in common; a uniqueness of thought and creativity that
displays the value of original ideas in rebuilding a more equitable and fair society
in Ireland and abroad. Anyone privileged enough to hear Michael D Higgins speak
at the Tom Johnson Summer School in July last year will have heard his message
of young people having a tremendous opportunity to use language, thought, and
inspiration to debate in modern society. Let this issue carry on in that tradition.

Shell’s Role in Nigeria :
used the release of the cables
“Undoubtedly, Shell has from the online whistleblower
used these dire ongoing site to demonstrate the grip
political, social and eco- that Shell have on the wealth
nomic situations to estab- of the country. Recently their
lish powerful connections Executive Director released a
in various countries in an statement highlighting that
attempt to exploit those „Shell is not only doing busiwith the weakest voice
ness in Nigeria, it has become
within society”.
a pseudo-political organisation
By Lisa Connell
bent on taking political power
and undermining our national
With oil and gas being two of
anything experienced in the
interest, national security and
our most important everyday
West.
sovereignty.‟ Furthermore,
commodities, using them for
For many, the discusSocial Action Nigeria, another
heat, electricity and transport
sion on Africa produces imcampaigning group working
necessary thought of the vast
ages of disease, hunger, mal- in the region, has claimed that
exploitation of these materials nutrition and social unrest.
Shell is „more powerful than
are not usually considered. We These images reflect the dire
the Nigerian government.‟
only need to look at Rossport
reality in many, though not
The degradation of the
in Mayo to see how even in
all, African countries. Unenvironment by processes of
Ireland natural resources have doubtedly, Shell has used
natural gas flaring and oil
been bought by large multina- these dire ongoing political,
spills is far from the biggest
tionals for a small price at the
social and economic situations
threat which the people of Niexpense of the citizens of the
to establish powerful connecstate. However, when it comes tions in various countries in an geria face at the expense of
Shell. Nigeria potentially
to the multinational oil comattempt to exploit those with
could become one of the richpany Shell the experience felt
the weakest voice within sociest countries in the world
in Ireland is by no means an
ety. A recently released
ranking as eighth largest
isolated occurrence. The atWikileaks cable depicts how
world oil exporters, however
tempted obliteration of the
the oil tycoon has inserted
this potential will never be
Irish right to Irish natural restaff into key ministries within
sources is standard for multina- the Nigerian government ulti- reached as long as the militant
links associated with the oil
tional oil companies such as
mately gaining access to poligiant remain.
Shell. However, as history
ticians every move in the oil
shows, it is generally underde- rich region of „Niger Delta.‟
Campaigns seeking the
veloped countries who receive The campaign group „Friends nationalisation of Nigerian
far more severe treatment than of the Earth Nigeria‟ have
natural resources were entirely

Page 4

www.labouryouth.ie

Blood and Oil
silenced whilst environmental
and political activists who
highlighted and campaigned
against poverty, corrupt governing, environmental devastation and human rights abuses
(despite an entirely non-violent
movement) were severely repressed through extreme military campaigns resulting in the
deaths of thousands of local
peoples in Niger Delta. The
entanglement of Shell staff in
key ministries within the government means that there are
indisputable links between
Shell and the military dictatorship currently in place in the
region. For many Nigerians
this has simply marked the
emergence of a neo-colonial
regime which their government
are actively engaging in in an
attempt to dominate the revenue generated through the rich
oil resources.

Nigerian students. The considerable changes which Shell
have made arenâ&#x20AC;&#x;t the means
they use to dominate control
of natural reserves but instead
are becoming far more efficient in concealing their involvement in the volatile state
by directly targeting the educated youth.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sadly, the exploitation of underdeveloped countries by western economies through the means of multinational oil companies has become a
reoccurring process which has established its place within history.â&#x20AC;?.

as Shell because the grip that
they exercise over public life
allows them to maintain control over the natural resources
in the region. Sadly, the exploitation of underdeveloped
There seems to be an
countries by western econoactive discouragement of the
mies through the means of
Nigerian government to live
up to its responsibility to pro- multinational oil companies
vide many basic rights for the has become a reoccurring
Although the military
70 per cent of the Nigerian
process which has established
leadership which once domiits place within history. As
people who live below the
nated Nigeria has ceased, Shell
long as wealthy western
poverty line. Simply put,
still possesses a strong hold
profit for a select few has been economies have continued
over Nigerian decision making. placed ahead of the peoples'
investment interests in oil reThey have made one of the
serves in underdeveloped
need. Nigeria is an underdelargest foreign direct investveloped, oil rich, country with countries, this cyclical procment proposals in Africa with
corrupt governance, social un- ess is destined to continue and
an eight billion proposal in the rest and unstable economic
the poor will remain poor so
investment of natural gas as
the rich can stay rich.
policies. Yet these factors
well as the establishment of
usually remain irrelevant to
various scholarship schemes to multinational companies such

Page 5

Political Reform:
Luke Dineen puts forward his
proposals for a reform the Irish
political system.

By Luke Dineen

If the current crisis has revealed anything over the last
two years, it has been the woeful inadequacy of our national
parliament to hold the government to account for its horrendous mismanagement of our
economy. Our entire political
system is structured to ensure
that the executive of the day
remains unaccountable. Electoral reform will change nothing, nor will gender quotas.
Although I am sympathetic to
both, each are akin to using a
broom to sweep away the
stench of the Augean stables
of Ancient Greek mythology.
Much more fundamental
change is needed. Reforming
the relationship between government and parliament, and
ultimately parliament and the
people will substantially reduce the likelihood of us
sleepwalking into another crisis in 10 years time.

The most insidious way in
which the government is able
to ensure its own unaccount-

Page 6

“Sadly, the exploitation of underdeveloped countries by western economies through the means of multinational oil companies has become a
reoccurring process which has established its place within history.”.

ability is through the party
whip system. A constitutional
amendment should be incorporated that prohibits any interference with the exercise by
deputies of their conscientious,
autonomous decision on any
vote in parliament. This would
destroy the deleterious influence of party oligarchs and
give ordinary parliamentarians
a real say in political proceedings. Another idea is the introduction of a device known as a
„decisive minority‟. This
would allow a minority in parliament (about a third) to insist
on an inquiry and/or a debate
on any matter, without guillotine. To those who claim that
these measures would undermine a government‟s ability to
legislate for its own agenda,
my answer is that we live in a
democracy, not an autocracy.

A genuinely reformed Seanad
www.labouryouth.ie

The Next Steps
can play an integral part of a
functional Oireachtas. But this
can only happen if the upper
house is empowered, and given
an identity distinct from the Dáil,
to provide one of those „checks
and balances‟ so missing from
our current system. A reformed
Seanad must be fully elected
from a list system using the European parliamentary constituencies, and done so separately from
a general election. More crucially, it should be given some
form of veto (without which the
Seanad will forever remain a redundant institution) over government legislation.

In no other democracy are the
legislative and executive
branches of government so fused
as they are in Ireland. The notion
that competent government ministers can be drawn from such a
tiny pool of politicians is as absurd as it sounds. The Taoiseach
should be able to appoint people
from outside politics with genuine expertise in their field to become cabinet ministers, with the
Dáil being able to accept or reject
the nomination of anyone to ministerial office.

A transparent budgetary system

to replace the current archaic
political theatre is now needed
more than ever given the perilous state of the public finances.
Never again should any future
government be allowed to so
criminally mismanage the peoples‟ money the way Fianna
Fáil has done. The Dáil must be
given a meaningful role into the
allocation of the state‟s finances
instead of the mere rubberstamp
it possesses now. Thus quarterly
exchequer reports and a draft
budget in advance of the real
thing should be presented to it
by the government and debated
thoroughly.

those of you who consider this to be a proposal
so radical that only in
Switzerland could it
work, the Free State constitution of 1922 contained similar elements
before the right wing
Cumman na nGaedheal
government abolished
them.

If only some of the proposals I have outlined
were implemented it
would be significant, but
if all of them were, then
it would be a democratic
revolution considering
But most importantly, if the
the painfully inert nature
people are to have faith in future of Irish politics. The govIrish political discourse then
ernment would truly be
they must be consulted on a
accountable to parliaregular basis. Direct democracy ment, and parliament
is the only way to ensure that
truly accountable to the
sovereign authority ultimately
people, whose authority
rests with the people, not a po- would be unquestionable.
litical elite. Deputies should be For the first time since
subject to recall by their conthe foundation of the
stituents for any wrongdoing
state, the Irish people
and citizens‟ initiatives should would have some sense
be sacrosanct. With sufficient
of ownership over our
signatures, the public could be destiny. It is time we reable to force a plebiscite on any claim that sense of beissue it demands (constitutional longing, which was broor otherwise), and its outcome
ken so long ago.
must be legally binding. For

Page 7

Irish Neutrality :
sentiment rather than any
high principles, and we must
question whether or not it
still has relevance. If we define neutrality in terms of total non-involvement in international affairs, it is hard to
see what the point of being
an independent country
By Osal Kelly
would be, as the ability to
have a foreign policy defines
a state as independent rather
than autonomous. Even a reBy Osal Kelly
laxed definition allowing for
Osal Kelly considers the time a foreign policy but not war
has come for a re-assessment is problematic: we can
hardly reject violence on a
of Ireland‟s neutrality.
basis of principle as virtually
In Ireland, especially at the
everyone agrees that it can
present time, we can have a
be justified in self-defence;
tendency to be insular, thinksurely were we ever in a
ing about ourselves first and
situation where we had to
regarding relations with the
defend ourselves, we would
rest of the world as an afterhope that others would help
thought. Whilst this attitude
us, so it follows that we
may have been understandshould be willing to help
able in times past, there can
others defend themselves,
be no place for it in today‟s
too.
interdependent world, where
An active foreign policy
we cannot go it alone, and
would be beneficial to us, in
must rely on others for our
that it would enhance our insurvival (as we‟ve discovered to our cost). Our foreign fluence in the world. It is abpolicy has long been defined surd to suggest we are too
by neutrality. This really has small to be influential: England is barely larger than Ireits genesis in anti-British
Page 8

land, and they were the most
powerful country in the
world for much of the 19th
century. To be influential
need not entail getting
caught up in wars; on the
contrary, a decision not to
go to war would be influential. Currently, as a neutral
nation, our non-involvement
in wars is taken for granted
and therefore has no influence; were we to abandon
our neutrality, people would
take note if we choose to
stay out of a war - indeed,
we would be more likely to
influence other countries to
stay out as well. As regards
past wars, our participation
in the Second World War
would undoubtedly have
benefited both Ireland‟s
status in the world, and Ireland as an island. In 1940,
Britain offered a re-united
Ireland in exchange for Irish
support in the war, and it is
an offer which we should
take very seriously: much of
our scepticism is owed to
the passage of time, and the
fact that we have grown
used to partition, but the
situation was different back
then: partition was relatively
www.labouryouth.ie

Time for a Rethink?

new, and, therefore, more
easily reversible. Furthermore, the fact the offer was
made at all was a major departure for a man like Churchill who was anything but
sympathetic to Irish nationalism, and so gives us reason
to take it seriously. The real
reason why it was spurned
was not a fear that the British
were insincere, as is shown
by the fact that de Valera, according to the Dominions
Secretary Malcolm MacDonald‟s recollection, refused to guarantee Irish support even if a United Ireland
was delivered. Clinging to
our neutrality during the war
could well have cost us our
hopes of Irish unity, leading
to a legacy of division, violence and bloodshed which is
still very much raw.

“If we define neutrality in terms of
total non-involvement in international
affairs, it is hard to see what the
point of being an independent country would be, as the ability to have a
foreign policy defines a state as independent rather than autonomous”.

An active Irish foreign policy
would benefit not just us but
also the world as a whole.
Our neutrality is a major
stumbling-block for the EU‟s
common foreign and security
policy; were we to set it
aside, the EU might be able
to develop a united security
policy, and act as a counterbalance to the unhealthy
power currently enjoyed by
America. It would also prevent unilateral military action
on the part of member states,
such as when countries like
Britain and Spain participated
in the illegal invasion of Iraq.
An active foreign policy
would also enable us to participate in just, UNsponsored interventions. The

appalling genocides in
countries like Rwanda and
Cambodia, which spiralled
out of control as the world
stood by, show what the
devastating cost of inaction
can be. However, it is not
just a question of war, but
also of peace: Norway has
played an exemplary role in
mediation and conflict resolution in Sri Lanka and Israel-Palestine, and it could
be argued this was because
of not in spite of its NATO
membership: as a NATO
member it is listened to and
taken more seriously, and
the same would apply to us
were to embrace an active
foreign policy. The time has
come to reassess our neutrality, and to consider the
ways in which an active foreign policy would benefit
both Ireland and the world
as a whole.

Page 9

Seanad Eireann

By Andrew Halligan

Andrew Halligan offers an
argument for reforming the
Seanad rather than straightforward abolition.

through local and European
elections half way through
a Dรกil term has little effect
on a national level. However, a Seanad with some
power could make things a
little tougher, and a lot
more democratic. Such a
power would most likely be
a veto, if a bill is comprehensively voted down by
Senators. This would be a
vast improvement on the
current Seanad, which has
the potency of Bertie Ahern
after ten pints of bass.

The current Seanad has
been a disgrace for some
There are some fundamental time, so that suggests that
problems with the Seanad,
money is one of the main
but few are beyond repair.
driving forces behind the
For example, the introducrise in abolitionists. In that
tion of mid-term elections,
case, the actual slashing of
while doing away with the
wages, rather than the phoTaoiseach's picks and the
ney tokenism, for TD's and
NUI/Trinity-only elected
Senators would save
Senators, gives the elector- money. It won't get the IMF
ate the chance to have their off our back, but neither
say on the government of
would the removal of all
the day. If a week is a long
money spent on the democtime in politics, then five
ratic process.
years must be an eternity, so
Reforming Ireland's democa worthwhile upper house
ratic practices musts surely
can ensure the will of the
include the loosening of the
people is done. A backlash
whip system. Ireland is a
Page 10

very diverse country, and
divisive bills can set the
city boys against the country siders, like the stag
hunting bill. When these
contentious bills occur, the
will of constituents must be
respected, and punishing
someone for listening to the
wishes of their constituents
by removing the party whip
is wrong. The whip system
is another reason the Seanad needs to be reformed
for purpose, as it is a major
contributing factor in the
government being able to
push through whatever it
wishes.
The issue of the Seanad is
not as clear cut as the abolitionists would have you
think. The option of reform
is not only viable, but could
play an important role in
actually reforming politics
in Ireland, as opposed to
the slash and burn policy of
Fine Gael. Everyone agrees
that the current Seanad is
not fit for any purpose, but
abolishing it and cutting
twenty-odd TD's does not
constitute political reform.

www.labouryouth.ie

Reform or Abolition?

By Conor Quirke

tion of power within the government gives Ireland two ineffectual Houses. It would be
better to have one reformed
house with a system more
similar to those in mainland
“Tradition is nothing but a colEurope than to try to reform
lection of bad habits”, accordunnecessary
second
ing to Oscar Wilde, and when the
house.
Ireland gained its independIt is said by the Seence from Britain it took with
it warts and all the Westmin- anad‟s apologists that there is
ster Tradition. One of the main more debate in the Upper
aspects of this is an Upper House. This is more because
House, in Britain this was sup- of the problems that afflict the
posed to represent the aristoc- Dáil than of any special fearacy and over the past ninety tures in the Seanad. In the
years Ireland has struggled to
find a purpose for our own up- “To try to reform the Seanad or to
per house.
get rid of it without major reform

Conor Quirke gives his reasons why he believes the
Seanad should be scrapped.

It is this rather than the of the other institutions of Parliament and Government would be
undemocratic nature of the Sethe equivalent of rearranging the
anad that is the main problem
furniture on the Titanic”.
when it comes to reform. The
Dáil is the main legislative
power in the State and it itself Western European parliamentary system there is more emhas its own share of problems.
phasis on consensus decisions
The adversarial system of parliament and huge concentra-

and committees are more important than the plenary sessions of parliament. The State
of Nebraska has a legislature
that is both unicameral and
non-partisan. There are no
front benches, no whips and
individual members vote not
on the basis of party affiliation but on individual conscious.
To try to reform the
Seanad or to get rid of it without major reform of the other
institutions of Parliament and
Government would be the
equivalent of rearranging the
furniture on the Titanic. The
Seanad is merely a symptom
of the vast problems that afflict our political culture. Reform of the upper house will
not bring about a democratic
renewal; the reforms need to
go much further and deeper
than that. The Seanad should
go, but it will only be a beginning.

Page 11

Fact and Fiction: Debunking FF Spin

By Peter Kelleher
Peter Kelleher counters some of the
fiction that Fianna Fáil spinners relish to spread about the Labour Party.
Since Labour has enjoyed consistent
support around mid 20% and a poll
rating of 35% over the summer, Fianna Fáil feel threatened and scared.
Not for the country or for people like
you and me but for their seats. In
response, Fianna Fáil slandered Labour in a desperate attempt to save
face with the voters. This article is
will address some of the fiction that
Fianna Fáil seems to enjoy so much
to spread and to inform you about
the facts of the Labour Party.
FF Fiction #1: Labour has no policies.
Fact: Labour has published 47 policy documents since 2007 and 26
Private Members Bills. These documents have been based on a wide
range of issues such as the banks,
climate change, tourism, rural affairs
and education. Fianna Fáil‟s usual
tactic of brushing Labour aside with
lies has failed once again.
FF Fiction #2: They (Labour) oppose any form of student contribution at third level, yet they refuse to
say how our third level sector should
be funded into the future.
Fact: It is true that we oppose student contributions towards third

Page 12

level education; however, Labour
TD‟s have said consistently that third
level education should be funded
through progressive taxes, meaning
those who can pay more, should pay
more. This puts no one single taxpayer under a heavy burden and puts
every student on an equal footing,
regardless of their financial background.

FF Fiction #4: All of the Government‟s actions revolve around creating growth and generating jobs. Getting people back to work is the driving force of our entire economic
strategy. For the Labour Party to
suggest that we are not interested in
tackling unemployment is simply
ridiculous. It shows that Eamon Gilmore and his colleagues are more
FF Fiction #3: The Labour Party has interested in scoring cheap political
refused to say where it stands on the points than addressing the reality of
(Croke Park) deal. Despite declaring the situation.
that he is ready to be the next Taoiseach Eamon Gilmore has failed to Fact: Firstly, Labour has put forshow any leadership on this issue.
ward a number of ideas on job creation. For example, the party has been
Fact: This is more about the picture calling for increased infrastructure
that Fianna Fáil is trying to paint than spending for the last two and a half
the actual statement. Fianna Fáil is years. Secondly, any time 50 or 100
trying to make Labour appear indeci- jobs are created, Brian Cowen or
sive but this stance was taken by Ea- some other Fianna Fáiler is there for
mon Gilmore to allow the unions to the photo op. Sounds like they‟re
decide if the Croke Park deal was the “more interested in scoring cheap
best deal for their respective mem- political points than addressing the
bers. Some have voted for it and reality of the situation” to me…
some have voted against it.
On the slur against Eamon Gilmore‟s
leadership, I‟ll ask this: If he had Fianna Fáil have muddied the waters
come out in favour of the deal, would too often. Labour has the policies
nobody have said he was selling out and the leadership to lead governpublic sector workers? If he had ment and sort out the mess Fianna
come out against it, would nobody Fáil got us into.
have said he was taking advantage of
the sour relationship this Government
has with the public sector unions? I
doubt it.

www.labouryouth.ie

The Tea and Toast Revolution
Dan explained that the aim of the
site is quite straight forward. He
claims „that Irish political discussion
is lacking direction and a serious
analysis of how democrats should
work together in creating a good society. In opening up debate, the website hopes to influence people to engage with politics and stir things up.‟
„The nature of political publications
has changed.‟ Dan says. „In the past
it took a great deal of organisation
and money to create a well known
magazine or paper. Now all it takes
is a minimal amount of capital, a bit
of imagination and a network of interested people to launch a solid political project.‟

Jason Cullen interviews Dan O’
Neill, Editor and cofounder of the
political website
www.teaandtoast.ie
Teaandtoast.ie was founded to spark
and liven up political debate in Ireland. It features articles by people
from all walks of life, all age groups
and political traditions with an emphasis on building a fairer, more democratic and more sustainable country. The website is not affiliated to
any political party or group and has
no explicit political positions on individual issues. It encourages debate
to allow people to have their voices
heard and to help them to shape public opinion.
Labour Party member Dan O‟ Neill
is one of the cofounders and the editor of the new website.

Commenting on the nature of the
project, Dan exclaims that, „They
say that the beauty in the staple
foods of bread and water is that they
can so easily become tea and toast.
Likewise a simple idea thought up in
a cafe amongst friends can become
an interesting adventure which is
creating space for regular people to
have a voice when it comes to politics. The beauty of the idea is in its
simplicity and www.teaandtoast.ie is
a simple project involving over 50
regular contributors and receiving
over 3000 unique hits per week.‟
Dan notes that people in general are
becoming disillusioned with being
just spectators when it comes to politics.
„People are fed up of listening to the
same voices discuss issues in the
same way again and again in the media. This kind of website creates a
forum so badly needed in Ireland for
political discussion because for too
long we have had a political system

“This kind of website creates a
forum so badly needed in Ireland for political discussion because for too long we have
had a political system that is
closed to many”.
that is closed to many. In most cases,
the only time people engage directly
with politics is in the ballot box.
People are tired of that.‟
The website uses social media to
build up a readership for itself and is
fully integrated with Facebook and
Twitter.
„The beauty of a collaborative website like Tea and Toast is that nowadays everybody is on Facebook.‟ „If
someone writes an article, they
might put it up on their Facebook
wall. Then, their friends visit the site
and word spreads.‟
The group want as many people as
possible to contact them with ideas
for contributions. Any subject with a
political slant is likely to be taken
and the site even has plans to publish
a short, humorous play about politics
in the near future.
www.teaandtoast.ie has been online
for the past 4 months and had its official launch party in the Corner
Stone pub on the 4th of January.
Anyone who would like to contribute to the website or find out more
can visit the web address or email
editor@teaandtoast.ie

Page 13

The migration muddle
around 170 countries in the world

the UN day against racism on the 21st

each with there own unique system,

the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland

some albeit only slightly, it is very

(MRCI) produced a leaflet on the facts

easy to fall victim of unforeseen ir-

about migrant workers in Ireland. In the

regularities between countries.

summary of their leaflet they say that
“in the same way that Irish people have

From increased immigration into our

emigrated, migrant workers from differ-

country during the boom years to the

ent countries have come to Ireland to

increased emigration of young people

live, work and raise their families” and

from our shores today, migration of

that “migration will continue to be a

people and their rights when migrat-

feature of Irish life, now and into the

Thomas D‟Alton dissects the

ing is of key importance in the glob-

future.” The need for such a leaflet was

problem of migration in the context of

alisation of societies and economies.

defined in the context that “throughout

Ireland‟s current economic woes.

In recent times the Central Statistics

history, migration has been accompa-

Office (CSO) showed levels for the

nied by fears and negative myths and

year April 2009 to 2010 of emigra-

misinformation about newcomers” and

The movement of people has always

tion in Ireland show an increase in

since “many people do not have access

proved challenging, but sometimes

Irish nationals emigrating and a de-

to clear, accurate information about mi-

necessary due reduced economic op-

crease in non nationals and a net emi-

grant workers; when left unchallenged,

portunities, armed conflicts in volatile

gration increase from 7800 to 34,500.

misinformation leads to prejudice, ra-

regions, and political disputes and

One of the resulting factors from an

cism, discrimination and inequality.”

human rights violations in unstable

increase in emigration, especially of

Needless to say that we in Ireland could

and changing societies. The first ex-

younger people, is the potential lack

do better to inform ourselves and as we

plorers were free to come and go as

of economic capacity for the provi-

celebrate our own national saint's day

they pleased with the dangers biased

sion of the elderly in society which

on the 17th of March I hope we can do

towards the journey itself. In today's

the CSO gave as exceeding half a

so in the spirit of inclusion as a growing

modern age of transport getting to

million at the end of April 2010.

part of our national identity.

where you want to go is compara-

Though this may be offset by the

tively very easy. With this, however,

continued population increase that

While a nations people's treatment of

has come the restrictions and controls

may be mitigated by the extended life

migrants can be negative, so too can

that each country exercises on people

expectancy with advances in the

their government's attitude through its

going to and from there. These may

medical sciences.

laws, procedures and policies. This can

By Thomas D’Alton

not seem as dangerous as the perils of

be done on a national and international

risking your life travelling long ago,

One particular aspect of migration is

basis. To this end the Global Progres-

but there are real dangers and risks

the treatment and attitude of nation-

sive Forum (GPF), in an article on mi-

present due to a lack of pertinent and

als toward migrants. On the 15th of

gration, set out their agenda in order to

clear information available to people.

March 2010 as part of the European

ensure a freer movement of people

When you consider that there are

Network Against Racism (ENAR)

around the world. They stated that their

Ireland's week of activities around

“ main challenge is to put people first on

Page 14

www.labouryouth.ie

their organisations to increase participation in problem solving and to
use “gender analysis as a tool to develop pro-women development initiatives”. Continuing on from the
global objectives to the national
level the focus remains on female
migrants. The national objectives
involve informing and educating
women intending to migrate as to
their rights in the country they're
going to, to give training to migrant
communities to promote awareness
the migration agenda, both in the coun-

be necessarily capable of provisioning

try of origin and of destination, through

for a population increase. The second

the recognition and strengthening of the

objective acknowledges the need for

rights of migrants” and in addition to

migration in ageing societies, Japan

this to undertake a process of “ integrat-

being a prime example, and that a full

ing the issue of migration fully into the

and active approach is needed to ad-

global and national development, eco-

dress “he root causes of migration

nomic, employment, social and security

(poverty, conflict, demographic and

agendas, as well as ensuring greater

economic factors), the connection with

policy coherence between these agendas

development, rights and employment,

and between the stakeholders involved:

as well as the justice and security di-

governments, the business, international

mensions.” The third objective is to

organisations, trade unions, NGOs, civil

specifically deal with the root causes of

society and the migrants themselves.”

migration splitting different factors into
what 'pushes' people from a country and

The GPF's has five global objectives.

what 'pulls' people to a country.

The first envisages an international policy to fully coordinate the security and
legal policies of different countries in
order to manage a sustainable flow of
migration that is in the best interests of
the countries themselves. This is ambitious but needed to address the day to
day realities of mass migration to countries due to globalisation that may not

Since the GPF puts a particular focus on
women migrants due to them making up
a large percentage of migrants the
fourth and fifth global objectives are
given this focus. The fourth looks to
allocate resources in origin and destination countries for specific programmes
focused on women. The fifth objective

of issues impacting on the lives of
women in their community in the
new country, and “treating formerly
trafficked women as victims rather
than illegal immigrants in countries
of destination and granting them
rights to asylum and legal protection.”
In summary, we ought to treat migrant workers as we would like to be
treated if we were the migrant workers. Being aware of our rights in
other countries that we may wish or
need to emigrate to is important and
more so for female migrants. However equally important is the political and social responsibility that exists for us to ensure that we are
aware of the rights of immigrants
coming to our country, and that we
strive as a nation to afford them a
comprehensive and coherent set of
rights, privileges and justice that
upholds their dignity and assists their
assimilation into society.

seeks to work with female migrant and

Page 15

The Death Penalty
port within pockets of society to
remain in place as a disputed but
practiced method of criminal
punishment.

By Orla Hubbard

Orla Hubbard takes a look at
the use of capital punishment
worldwide and comments on
the continuing trend of abolitionism versus a persistent core
support.

Historically, capital punishment has been practiced in virtually every society. Today, it is
actively practiced by 58 nations,
with 95 countries abolishing it,
and the remainder allowing it
only in exceptional circumstances, such as wartime. Only
five developed counties have retained the death penalty, but with
the industrialisation of Asia this
group is set to grow.

Worldwide, the death penalty is far more prevalent than
one may think. In fact, over 60%
of the world's population live in
Capital punishment is a countries where executions take
place. The four most populous
source of extreme controversy
nations in the world, China, Inin today's world. Most liberal
dia, United States and Indonesia,
societies see it as being a barbaric, and ultimately futile, vio- all apply the death penalty. It is
important to remember that in
lation of human rights. Howmany developing countries, parever its supporters are equally
strong in their conviction that it ticularly those under authoritarian
provides closure for the families regimes, capital punishment is
of victims and is a just punish- used as a tool of political oppresment for the crime committed. sion. As long as these governments condone it, it doesn't need
There has been a worldwide
trend towards its abolition over public support.
several decades, and speculaDespite the relatively widetion about when it will be abol- spread use of the practice, it is
ished completely. However it is true that during the last 40 years
worth considering whether the there has been a trend towards
death penalty is indeed on its
the abolition of capital punishway out after a slow downward ment around the world. A good
spiral, or if it has enough sup-

Page 16

example of this was seen during
the 1980s, when the democratisation of Latin America swelled
the ranks of abolitionist countries.
Continuing the trend of
abolition, The European Union
and Council of Europe have
made the abolition of the death
penalty during times of peace a
requirement for membership.
This encouraged Turkey in May
2004 to amend its constitution in
order to remove capital punishment in all circumstances, so that
it could move towards accession
of the EU. On the whole this
seems like it should leave opponents of the death penalty triumphant, and expectant of universal
abolition which must surely be
well on its way, albeit slowly.
But do these small steps mean
that we can realistically expect
the practice to be discontinued
worldwide?
Abolition is normally
adopted due to political change,
or mass change of public opinion
due to some external factor. Public opinion is moulded from both
media coverage and the opinions
voiced by influential figures.
There are four main arguments
which influence public opinion;
The first is that the death
penalty acts as a deterrent to
would-be criminals. Ernest van
den Haag, a Professor of Juriswww.labouryouth.ie

On its way out, or here to stay?
prudence, wrote: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Execution of
those who have committed heinous murders may deter only one
murder per year. If it does, it
seems quite warranted." On the
other side of the argument are the
statistics that most murders are
committed in moments of passion and anger, or while intoxicated, when the accused is
unlikely to be deterred by rationally exploring the possible consequences of their actions.
The second argument is
that the death penalty acts as the
only fair method of retribution
for the crime. The District Attorney for Oklahoma City believes
that "For justice to prevail, some
killers just need to die." Opponents of the death penalty
counter this by arguing that it is
impossible to teach that killing is
wrong by killing.
The third argument is that
the death penalty carries the risk
of executing an innocent person.
Since 1973, for every seven people executed in America, they
released one person on death row
who never should have been convicted. If a car manufacturer operated with similar failure rates,
it would be run out of business.
The counter argument is that the
need for reform is not a reason to
abolish the death penalty. The
Senate found the risk of executing an innocent person in the US

to be 'minimal'. According to
Paul Cassell, a Professor of
Law in Utah, "The mistaken
release of guilty murderers
should be of far greater concern than the ... mistaken execution of an innocent person."

the strength of the arguments and
counter arguments from each side.
It is clearly so controversial and so
divisive because each side of the
fence are equally strong in their
convictions, and have the support
of influential people and organisations to sway and hold public opinFourthly and finally, is
the argument forwarded by the ion. This brings us back to the
President of PUSH, a coalition question of whether or not capital
punishment can realistically be said
opposing the death penalty,
claiming that it is discrimina- to be on its way out.
tory in its application. He says
It seems to be a practice that
the lack of objective, measur- there will always be a degree of
able standards as to when the support for, due to human emotions
death penalty should be sought like grief and vengeance. But it is
or applied, ensures that it will up to the leaders in society to probe discriminatory against cer- mote a higher level of conscience
tain groups. On the retention- and an insurmountable respect for
alist side is the repetition of
human life if they hope to achieve
the view that the existence of abolition. From the strength and
some systemic problems is no conviction of the supporters' argureason to abandon the whole
ments, it looks likely to be a long
death penalty system. The US and mucky road ahead for aboliSupreme Court held that sta- tionists.
tistical studies on race by
themselves were an insufficient basis for overturning the
death penalty.
The most striking aspect
of the debate on abolition is

Page 17

Net Neutrality:

By Declan Meenagh

The Internet (capital I) is the system which you pay to access, it‟s
publicly available and things like
the web and email run on it. Your
Internet Service provider (ISP), like
Eircom or Vodafone, is the smallest
network you connect to. You pay
them to connect to the Internet. In
the same way, companies pay to
upload things on the internet, things
like YouTube, Flickr and Facebook. In turn, they pay a bigger
ISP to connect all their users to the
Internet. And so we have the Internet, a global network of networks.

I think it‟s clear that to build a
knowledge economy we need an
open Internet, one where you can
freely choose which information
source to use, and where you have
the fastest possible connection to the
Internet.
The threat:

Let‟s make a theoretical example.
Imagine if an electronics company
Net Neutrality and the
made a deal with your electricity
Threat to an Open Internet
provider to only let you use electricConference passed a motion in
ity on their products. This would be
support of net neutrality, but
unfair. What if you had to pay extra
The Internet is serious business
what is it about?
for electricity you could use on what
The Internet provides access to in- ever product you want. What if the
formation on government, educaproduct makers had to pay so their
tion, communication, health, all of products would run on your electricBackground:
which are basic human rights. The ity? This additional cost would be
First of all, let‟s talk about the
Irish government needs to improve passed onto the user.
internet, this is the simplified
broadband infrastructure in the
version, there‟s loads of recountry.
sources about the Internet on
But in reality, you pay for electricity
the Internet if you want more
by unit, which is the amount of elecinformation. Originally, the
Labour MEP Alan Kelly said that
tricity you use, and you can use it to
Internet was designed as a
like Finland, Ireland should make power a toaster from company A, a
computer system which could access to broadband a universal
cooker from company B and a comwithstand nuclear attack. For
right. This makes so much sense. puter from company C. This is how
this reason the whole thing was You can‟t build a knowledge econthe internet works at the moment.
decentralised. Not long after
omy without proper broadband.
You pay for access to the internet
that, it was realised that this
and can use Facebook, Twitter or
could be used for academic research, and it was opened first Labour has a great tourism policy, even Bebo. You can watch the RTE
player, or YouTube or Vimeo. You
to all of America, then graduand this relies on broadband. It
can read the Guardian, the Irish
ally to the entire world. A
suggests tourism smart phone apps,
CERN scientist, Sir Tim Bern- activity specific portal websites like times, the Daily Mail or the Sun.
This is why a guy in a garage can
ers Lee, developed the World
surf Ireland and helping hotels and
start a small company to share vidWide Web, a set of hyperlinked attractions to go online.
eos, and sell it for 2 Billion dollars,
documents on the internet. The
and give everyone on the internet the
web is part of the Internet, and
many internets make up the
The internet will facilitate job crea- tools to make their own TV station.
Internet.
tion. Behind every website or ser- This is YouTube.
vice are highly trained engineers,
sales staff, managers and lots more.
The internet has endless possibiliThe word internet was shortThese are all graduates and these
ened from internetwork, which jobs are clearly part of a knowledge ties. You can find information about
any topic, you can exchange ideas
means a network of networks. economy.
with people from all over the world,

Page 18

www.labouryouth.ie

The Lowdown

and can express yourself in new
ways. You can very easily have an
idea, and put it online, either keeping
it as a hobby, or turning it into a massive business, either way reaching
millions of users. I don‟t exaggerate
when I say that the Internet is one of
humanities greatest achievements.
ISPs argue that it‟s expensive to
transfer videos from YouTube to
your computer, but this is rubbish,
you paid to access the full Internet,
and YouTube, and all the other publishers, paid their ISP to serve videos
on the Internet. It‟s just greedy,
money grabbing companies who
don‟t care about their customers and
are double charging.

Google made earlier in the year.
This is an issue on which the EU is
developing policy, and it‟s something we need to watch carefully.
Some ISPs offer services like video,
music or news. We need to make
sure they don‟t prioritise these services and slow down or block competing services.

What needs to happen:
The Irish government needs
to make it illegal for an ISP to
accept money to prioritise
web traffic, and we should
work on it at an European
level. Small businesses
shouldn‟t have to pay this unjust tax to hundreds of ISPs
around the world to serve
content to their users. Our
economic recovery requires a
fast and open Internet, where
companies can serve users all
over the world without having to pay tolls.

The biggest issue with the proposed
rules is that they don‟t apply to mobile internet at all. If such rules
were implemented in Ireland then a
lot of rural internet users would be
denied access to a free and open
For more information about
internet.
this, see the Lifehacker article
“An Introduction to Net Neutrality: What It Is, What It
Since the disastrous sale of eircom in Already, mobile companies are
Means for You, and What
the 90s, it was asset stripped and left plotting ways to charge customers
extra for accessing services, look up You Can Do About It
to rot. This means we can‟t build a
Wired and the article “Mobile Car- [Explainer]”, and if you have
proper broadband network, and we
riers Dream of Charging per Page”. any questions, I‟m on twitter:
can‟t force eircom to put users first.
@dagda and my email is
This sale put Irish broadband back 10 There‟s a leaked slideshow which
dmeenagh@gmail.com
shows a chart where users have to
years.
Recently, the FCC in America published some rules for net neutrality,
but they don‟t go far enough. They
are based on a suggestion which

pay extra to access YouTube,
Skype and Facebook on mobile
internet.

Page 19

Palestine : An activist’s experience

By Adam Fulham
top site that was within view of
Gaza. We were quickly moved
Adam Fullham writes about his
own experience in Israel in Pales- away from the area by soldiers who
claimed that a military operation
tine and why he feels internawas taking place; 3 civilians intional boycott is the only solution.
cluding a 91 year old man were
Last September, I was a member killed by an Israeli tank in Gaza
of a political delegation sent by
that night.
Labour Youth to Israel and PalesIn Palestine, we spent most of our
tine. The trip, which lasted 2
nights in the „Hebron Hostel Hotel‟
weeks, took us from the likes of
in East Jerusalem. It was here that
Sderot in Israel to the Jordan Valwe came across holy landmarks
ley in Palestine. In Israel, we also
like the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the
visited Tel Aviv, the Negev Desert and West Jerusalem. Sderot is Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I
an Israeli city which is less than a considered praying for my family
at the Wailing Wall but, as an agmile from Gaza. It has been the
nostic, I felt it would be like talking
target of Palestinian Rocket Atto a wall.
tacks which, between 2001 and
2008, killed 13 and wounded doz- We encountered the separation wall
ens of Israelis. Despite their very and passed a checkpoint crossing
inaccurate aim, the homemade
for the first time when we went to
projectiles have caused millions
Nablus in the West Bank. On the
of dollars in damage and many
same day, we passed another
buildings in Sderot are fortified.
checkpoint guarded by Israeli solWhenever a rocket is seen being
diers who were joking that our
fired from Gaza an air-raid siren
passports would end up being used
is triggered.
in a Dubai assassination.
While in Sderot we met with an
Israeli group who led us to a hill-

Page 20

Well. We think they were joking.

In Ramallah we met with Fatah.
While there we came across a 12
year old Arab American whose
family had returned to Palestine
from New Orleans after the disaster there in 2005. We also visited
Deisha Refugee Camp in Bethlehem and got tear gassed during a
peaceful demonstration in the village of Bil'in, where close to 60%
of the land has been annexed by
Israel for settlements and for the
construction of the separation wall.
However, Hebron was the most
shocking experience of the tour.
It's a Palestinian City where Israeli
settlers (500 protected by 2,000
soldiers) walk around with machine guns.
Shuhada Street, once home to a
thriving marketplace, is the main
road that connects the western part
of Hebron to the eastern part. It is
today a desolate and often empty
settler-only street which is closed
off to Palestinians, even though
Palestinian houses line up along
the street. These houses, which
have had their doors welded shut,
are home to residents who must
www.labouryouth.ie

use the rooftops as a means of exiting
and entering their homes. Every one of
the welded doors has been painted over
with the Star of David by fanatic settlers.
There was a lane where settlers had
taken over the second-floor buildings nets were put up between the first and
second floors by Palestinians as the settlers kept throwing garbage onto people
outside. While there we were stopped
by Israeli soldiers every minute and
weren't allowed to take any photos.
All this in Hebron. A Palestinian city.
Why boycott is the answer

Our get-togethers with nonreligious Jews in Israel made clear
that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
is not a 'Jewish-Muslim conflict'. It
is an 'Arab-Israeli conflictâ&#x20AC;&#x; - a dispute over land and not religion.
Israel's ridiculous demands of a
future Palestinian state mean peace
will not be coming to the region
any time soon. At the Camp David
Summit in 2000, Israel proposed
dividing Palestinian territory into 4
separate cantons entirely surrounded by, and therefore controlled, by Israel. The Camp David
Proposal also denied Palestinians
control over their own borders, airspace and water resources while
legitimising and expanding illegal
Israeli settlements (colonies) in
Palestinian territory.

It was great to see a world so different
to Ireland and to talk with Israeli and
Palestinian people. The cuisine was a
particular delight... I ate hummus every
day - I guess you could call me a humFurthermore, Israel's refusal to
musexual.
comply with international law and
the failure of last year's peace neBut when it comes to politics, the trip
was an eye-opening encounter; this was gotiations are big reasons why I
think a Third Intifada is inevitable.
rarely a happy experience. My visits to
Indeed, the talks were always
Bethlehem, Bil'in and, in particular,
Hebron have convinced me that Israel is doomed when Palestine was being
represented by a body that had no
most definitely a racist, apartheid state.
democratic mandate. The construcIts occupation of Palestine, refusal to
comply with international law and con- tion of the apartheid wall and
growing size of the settler populastant backing by the United States
makes clear that boycott is the only an- tion (500,000 people) makes the
swer. International boycotts work, they possibility of a viable two-state
solution lessen with every passing
were what helped end apartheid in
day. Factors like this made me
South Africa.
wonder...
The trip showed me how little a role
religion plays in this conflict. We met
with Christian and even Atheist Palestinian activists whose religious beliefs
had no effect on their place in society.

What about a one-state solution?

Page 21

Be the Government in Waiting
of positively wanting an election
and the anger is growing as the
date gets pushed further back into
early spring and now late spring –
by the Greens as well as Fianna
Fáil.

By Susan O’ Keefe

Labour candidate in Sligo North
Leitrim shares her insights on the
upcoming general election.
I tell this tale from my experience
on the doors in the last three
months. Being totally new – one of
the handful people with zero political baggage – I started in September. It was strange at first because
people wondered why I was there
as there was no talk of an election.
As the weeks slipped by, people
became more engaged with the idea
of a new government especially
when the Greens announced the end
of the Government and the prospect
of an election in early 2011.
As we now know, the Greens were
just throwing their toys out of the
pram and have changed their minds
since then. Unfortunately for them,
the public has moved into a position

Page 22

ple will give us a chance
when we give them the evidence that we can ring some
real changes, not just the faces
and the names.

And for those starting out –
It doesn‟t matter too much which
like me – on your very first
week it is; what matters is this.
campaign – I have found the
People – that‟s the voters – that
following resources useful in
I‟ve met - don‟t want to hear us
building a positive confident
complaining about how bad things message. Take the best bits
are, about how rotten this Govern- of the party‟s Budget maniment is, how cowardly the Greens festo. Read up on Universal
are, how corrupt the bankers are,
Health Insurance and the Strahow disgraceful NAMA is or how tegic Investment Bank. Rethe bailout is the end of our indemember the Private Members
pendence – or any of the myriad of Bill on reform of government
other problems or complaints that and public administration, isare washing around the system.
sued in November. Read the
They are exhausted from listening National Recovery Plan so
to them.
you know where the holes are.
Talk to LEADER, FAS, IDA,
They don‟t want Utopian-style
Enterprise Ireland, Failte Irepromises either. What they are
land - whoever - about what
keen to hear is sensible explanations of how this country might be is happening about jobs and
inward investment where you
rebuilt. They want to hear about
our strengths. They like a couple of are.
simple plans or ideas, particularly And that‟s just for starters. I
know I have nothing to comif they have a local implication.
They smile if you come up with a pare this election with; that
fresh idea that is grounded in some has its advantages and disadreality, that connects with their life vantages but the voter in me
feels keenly that the desire for
or their place of work.
change is real but the articulaAnd especially they want the Lation of that change – well
bour Party to lead, to speak like the that‟s up to us – the party and
„Government in waiting‟, to rethe candidates. Certainly, havspond to each new crisis with com- ing the gravitas of the
petent suggestions and solutions.
„government in waiting‟ will
They are tired of criticism because be very powerful on the doorit‟s on the radio all day and it saps steps because it‟s real and it‟s
energy and is unproductive. Peo- what people want.
www.labouryouth.ie

Poetry: The Poisoning by Michael D. Higgins
Alone with you

By Liam Duffy
The inclusion of poetry in the Left-tribune,
seeks to highlight the continuing legacy of
The Left, Politics, Poetry and Ireland.
All contributions are welcome and feedback
appreciated; send to: Lmtduffy@gmail.com
Michael D Higgins‟ poems have been published in several Poetry Journals, including
the New Irish Writing, Céide, Salmon Poetry Journal, Poetry Ireland, and Aishling.
He has also published 4 collections; Betrayal, The Season of Fire, An Arid Season
and his most recent book is Causes for Concern.

The Poisoning by Michael D. Higgins

And it is no melancholy now

They ran past furze bushes,

In memory I impose, my father,

That in another time,

On your response.

You sought to clear

I respect your anger

And, in much later years

At an act of cruelty

Past my escape to lecture halls,

Born out of a neighbour‟s spite,

I saw you in Clym Yeobright,

Know the abuse of such proximity

Bent to the side of a hill,

As authored this act

Tearing roots to make a clearance,

That left two dogs

That would not last.

Sharers of your intimacy
Writhing in an agony

And for a moment now in memory,

Before a death

I must become my father,

That sparked anew

Recall that on the day he returned

A great despair

There was no sign of tears,

At all that you had lost.

But anger on his face

And now for me at a distance

His dogs had died.

In a strange space

And why should the writhing and the turning,

Lectures on community ring hollow

The moaning

Invocations to cooperation

In a slow death,

Make a dead echo

From a neighbour‟s poison,

Insufficient for the erasing

Be hidden?

Is it the fate of sons

From memory

Such is the stuff of rural intimacies,

To become their father

Of this terrible act.

Never to be forgotten.

And in that fate

This stuff of rural intimacies

Unavoidable

Should never be forgotten.

Recover

Now sinks the sun in burning red,
And comes the night with shadows dark.

In moments lit by the senses

True grief requires that truth be told

The night is long and I afraid,

A memory

Making way who knows in time

Remember,

Of grief and loss?

For such an amnesty among neighbours

And put a question now in fear,

As would make a truce in space and time

Is it the fate of sons

When now I look and gaze

Where proximity offers no choice

To be their father,

At black and brown and great white chest

Suggests instead a lying amnesia

And do old wounds reopen when

At amber dotted eyes and head

To hide a neighbourly violence.

Space and time make even

Of my great friend

The crippling ends of life

Who placed his total trust

For, if the truth be told,

In us who watched

I must recall

As memory tears the cover

His racing quest to catch

Of those wounds that will not heal.

A scent of stranger or elusive fox

That it was in the autumn years of your hopeless life,

And when time has robbed us

Across the fields you did not own

Of our time together I recall

But yet had made familiar

An older story that will not, should not die.

You walked in silence.

Page 23

Your National Youth Executive
National Chairperson — Colm Lawless

International Officer—Mike Spring

As National Chairperson, Colm is
responsible for the smooth running of
Labour Youth as a whole, along with acting
as the public face of the organization. He is
also a member of the Executive Board of
the Labour Party.

As International Officer, Mike is
responsible for representing the
organization at European level and
beyond.

Email: lyinternational@labour.ie

Email: lychair@labour.ie

Vice Chair/Campaigns— Conor Ryan

Communications Officer—
Mick Reynolds

As National Vice Chair and Campaigns
Officer, Conor is primarily responsible for
the formation and execution of Labour
Youth National Campaigns. She also acts
as Chair of the organization in Colm’s
absence.

As National Communications Officer, Mick is the Chief Editor of the
Left Tribune, and Chairperson of
the Left Tribune Editorial Board. He
is also responsible for managing
the overall design strategy, and
online presence of the organization.

Email: lycampaigns@labour.ie

National Secretary — Martin O’ Prey

Ed & Policy — Dean Duke

As National Secretary, Martin is responsible
for taking minutes at all Labour Youth
events, and at NYE meetings. He is also
responsible for correspondence, accounts
and fundraising.

As National Recruitment Officer, Darren is
responsible for the recruitment and
retention of new members. He is also the
primary coordinator for the National
Recruitment Campaign. He is currently
Labour Youth’s representative on the
Central Council of the Labour Party.

As Youth & Development Officer,
Neil is the Labour Party Staff
Member responsible for the
administration of Labour Youth. He
is also a non-voting member of the
NYE.
Email: neil.ward@labour.ie